(Bloomberg) -- An early morning earthquake centered in southern Mexico killed three people, damaging homes and blocking some roads in neighboring Guatemala.

A 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck along the Pacific coast of Chiapas, Mexico at 5:23 a.m. local time, according to a statement on the U.S. Geological Survey’s website. Two people died in Guatemala when their home collapsed, the Associated Press reported, and one person was killed in the Mexican city of Huixtla, according to emergency personnel. Landslides blocked roads in Guatemala and the Education Ministry closed schools across the western portion of the country.

Homes were shaken off their foundations and left tilting toward the street in San Marcos, Guatemala, according to newspaper La Prensa. The country’s $50 billion economy is Central America’s largest, exporting goods including coffee, gold, and sugar.

While the temblor was also felt in Mexico City, there were no initial indications of damage in the capital, Milenio TV reported. The quake was at least 200 miles away from the nearest Mexican refinery.

--With assistance from Eric Martin and Carlos Manuel Rodriguez in Mexico City and Will Daley in New York.

Special Reports /

Magnitude 6.9 quake in southern Mexico collapses homes, causes landslides

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